A review on current development of thermophotovoltaic technology in heat recovery

The burning of fossil fuels in industry results in significant carbon emissions, and the heat generated is often not fully utilized. For high-temperature industries, thermophotovoltaics (TPV) is an effective means of waste heat recovery. This review covers two aspects of high-efficiency TPV systems and industrial waste heat applications. At the system level, representative results of TPV complete systems, selective emitters and photovoltaic cells in the last decade are compiled, and key points of components to improve energy conversion efficiency is further analyzed. At the application level, the feasibility of TPV in high-temperature industrial applications is shown from the world waste heat utilization situation, and then the potential of TPV in waste heat recovery is illustrated with the steel industry as an example.